Chapter 2082: Bitter
Translator: Atlas Studios Editor: Atlas Studios
Amongst everyone, Feng Cheng was the most disappointed upon learning that Zhai Sheng had gotten married and was even expecting a child. She had even thought that her daughter finally stood a chance since Zhai Sheng had been unwilling to get back together with Qiu Chenxi all these years, especially since her daughter was so persistent.
Who would have known that Zhai Sheng would have gotten married and was now even expecting a child even before she had even visited the Zhai family? It was such a pity. If she had known that this would be the case, she would have gone to visit the Zhai family earlier. Perhaps, she would even have found a reason to return to Ping Cheng, giving the excuse that she missed Old s.h.i.+. That way, she would have been able to get closer to the Zhai family.
“Mom.” s.h.i.+ Qing, who had just returned home, said h.e.l.lo to Feng Cheng before returning to her room to have a change of clothes.
Feng Cheng’s expression was downcast at the dinner table. “Qing Qing, Zhai Sheng’s wife is pregnant. You…” Qing Qing had probably not given up on Zhai Sheng yet. Before Zhai Sheng had gotten remarried, she would have agreed to her daughter getting married to Zhai Sheng, even though it would be Zhai Sheng’s second marriage..
But the situation was different now that Zhai Sheng was married and his wife was pregnant. If Qing Qing were to interfere at this time, Old s.h.i.+ would never have agreed to it if he were around and would even give Qing Qing a good lecture and beating. Although she was not capable of doing so, she would not support Qing Qing doing something like that either. “Qing Qing, don’t you love the military a lot? It hasn’t been easy for you to reach the position you’re in today. Don’t do anything silly.”
Because Zhai Sheng was a soldier, his marriage had been a military marriage that was protected by the military. If Qing Qing lost all self-control and did anything immoral, her years of effort and hard work would go to waste. “Think about it… The Feng family always praises you on the surface but I know what they truly think about you. They’re probably waiting for you to fall from grace one day. Qing Qing, don’t do anything silly.”
Feng Cheng could not bear to let s.h.i.+ Qing build a career in the military. If given a choice, she would much rather her daughter have a normal desk job. Perhaps it was because her daughter had spent too much time in the military that her temper had grown worse and would refuse to give in to anyone.
How many men in the world would truly love such a strong woman and be willing to marry her?
If she were to change her career path and tone down her temper, she might very well get married!
But Feng Cheng’s tone changed at the mention of her family. Yes, Qing Qing was no longer young and she herself was full of white hair. But that did not mean that she was an old foggy.
In fact, Feng Cheng even felt as though she was much shrewder now. She had seen clearly what her family was like. After Feng Cheng had tried to play s.h.i.+ Qing like a playing piece, completely ignoring s.h.i.+ Qing’s happiness, Feng Cheng had severed all ties with her family.
Initially, the Feng family had been taking care of s.h.i.+ Qing and Feng Cheng because they felt that others would think that the Feng family was bullying a widow and orphan if they were to leave them in the lurch. But since the mother and daughter pair refused to follow the Feng family’s arrangements, neither would they care about s.h.i.+ Qing or Feng Cheng anymore.
Once the mother and daughter lost the protection of the Feng family and realized how difficult it was to survive in the world, they would naturally return to the Feng family and listen obediently to them.
As such, the Feng family not only stopped helping s.h.i.+ Qing and Feng Cheng but they also tried to pressure the two of them into admitting their defeat and bowing down to them.
It was then that s.h.i.+ Qing had suddenly decided to enlist in the military. Even though the s.h.i.+ family did not have much savings, s.h.i.+ Qing handed all of her monthly allowances over to Feng Cheng. Of course, there was no way Feng Cheng could have lived a luxurious life as she had in the past, but it was not difficult to survive in a city like the capital with that sum of money.
When Old s.h.i.+ had been around, he had left everything that belonged to the s.h.i.+ family to Qiu Chenxi because his son had pa.s.sed away early and his granddaughter, Qiu Chenxi, had gotten married to Zhai Sheng. This meant that Feng Cheng and s.h.i.+ Qing had been left with practically nothing.
Thankfully, Feng Cheng had a good husband and s.h.i.+ Qing had a good father. s.h.i.+ Peng had bought a quad in the capital behind Feng Cheng’s back. Because he had purchased it very early on, the prices were not as high as they were now.
Not only Feng Cheng and s.h.i.+ Qing but even Old Master s.h.i.+ and the Feng family were in the dark about the existence of the quad.
When all of the s.h.i.+ family’s a.s.sets became Qiu Chenxi and the Feng family refused to help s.h.i.+ Qing and Feng Cheng, a lawyer came to their doorstep. Not only did that lawyer hand over the property deed of the quad to the mother and daughter, but he even handed over cash that had been acc.u.mulated from the rental income of the quad over the past few years.
As the property prices skyrocketed over the years, the rental income from the quad had far exceeded the amount that s.h.i.+ Peng had paid for the quad in the first place. This sum of money was like a light in the darkness to the mother and daughter and gave them the will to live once more.
It was only because of this sum of money that s.h.i.+ Qing had dared to enter the military.
The Feng family had always been holding their breath, waiting to see how miserable Feng Cheng and s.h.i.+ Qing would be. However, not only were they not miserable, but they were, in fact, doing very well. Gradually, s.h.i.+ Qing had shown off her prowess in the military and had even achieved remarkable results.
No one else knew why s.h.i.+ Qing had performed so outstandingly other than s.h.i.+ Qing herself. After s.h.i.+ Peng pa.s.sed away, s.h.i.+ Qing had lost contact with Zhai Sheng. Even as her paternal grandpa’s family left them in the lurch and her maternal grandma’s family tried to bully them into suppression, Zhai Sheng had been the one supporting her silently and creating opportunities for her even though he did not physically turn up.
It could be said that s.h.i.+ Qing owed much of her success to Zhai Sheng.
After s.h.i.+ Qing made a name for herself, the Feng family suddenly changed their stance. However, Feng Cheng had already given up on her family by then. Before Qing Qing had achieved anything in the military, not only had her family refused to help them, but they had even bullied them. Now that Qing Qing was capable, her family was trying to take credit for having raised Qing Qing well.
Feng Cheng had never insulted her family, but she was adamant that she would maintain her distance from them and would never get close to them again.
They had managed to pull through the hardest times after much difficulty. There was no way she was going to let her family ride on her laurels after they had left her and s.h.i.+ Qing in the lurch at her darkest times.
The Feng family had gone so overboard at that time that Feng Cheng could not help but use the Feng family as a negative example while trying to advise s.h.i.+ Qing.